Kovalainen penalised for safety car passes

Heikki Kovalainen will be dropped 5 places on the Malaysian Grand Prix grid, following a penalty during today’ Australian GP.

The Caterham driver overtook two drivers at the last corner as he entered the pits. However, he had not cleared the safety car line before he made the passes. The stewards investigated the incident after the race, and dealt the Finn the punishment for next week’s race.

He described the penalty as a “bit harsh” on his Twitter feed after the race.

Kovalainen had a troubled start to the season. He lost KERS at the start, and subsequently suffered a DRS failure on lap 6. Despite this, he was classified in 16th, and ran as high as 11th.